COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN ADVANCING EDUCATION

By: Lourdes S. Sevilla

Children's education has gradually been the realm of educators, as families and
communities have taken on more and more responsibilities. Education experts are aware that
raising children has evolved into such a complex process that it cannot be handled by just one
group of professionals as before, especially as society becomes more varied and social
cohesiveness becomes crucial to a knowledge-based society. A collaborative effort between the
community and families for the benefit of childrens' education is one way that schools can best
address this new challenge.
Globalization has caused enormous and abrupt changes in the world in recent years. The
world is rapidly shrinking and growing steadily more diversified. In order to accommodate
different cultures, ethnicities, socioeconomic status, and religious views, schools are forced to
deal with exceedingly difficult issues. Thus, schools are forced to prepare a variety of student
groups for a fast -changing future, a problem that no sector of expertise can handle on its own
(Suarez-Orozco & Qin-Hiliard, 2004). In order to meet these problems, they realize that they
must redesign themselves as settings for adult and youth education (Elmore, 2000).
Indeed, children must benefit from collaboration between families, communities, and
schools if education is to be deemed solely the duty of schools in the future (Epstein,1995). To
ensure that the nation's future residents are served to the best of their ability, education must be
made a shared duty involving the entire community and various professions, instructors, and
educators. A theory of learning and an action theory must be used throughout the entire school in
order to address these issues (Berends et al., 2002). Education has attracted attention as a
particularly effective strategy for fostering social cohesiveness since it is accorded such high
priority (Green et al., 2003).
Although schooling may have a significant role in a child's education, it is definitely not
the only factor that affects a child's aptitude and academic success. Children's growth and
academic achievement are influenced by a number of different variables, including the family,
one's cultural and socioeconomic background, one's financial condition, and, most crucially, the
community in which one lives (Collins et al., 2000; Elliot et al, 1999; Rainey & Murova, 2004).
Schools struggle to handle the plethora of variations of diversity, thus some look for strategic
collaborations within the community to get better results.
There are many various kinds of communities, including those found in a neighborhood,
a group, a school, and others. Ferdinand Tonnies, a German sociologist and philosopher,
believed that there are two types of "communities": Gesellschaft, which is an association of
individuals based on self-interest, and gemeinschaft, which is an association of people based on
common goals, commitments, and sentiments (Watkins, 2007). Any form of community can take
initiative, foster a sense of belonging among its members, support cohesion via commitment, and
embrace diversity at the same time (Watkins, 2007). A community may employ a variety of
procedures.

Communities facilitate collective activity among their members, foster relationships

among community members, encourage cooperation, and permit discourse, discussion, and
debate for the exchange of ideas and viewpoints. A community is made up of a variety of
interconnected elements, including a robust democratic system, quality education, good health
and welfare, economic fairness, opportunity, and sustainability, information and communication,
and sociability and culture (Schuler, 1996)
Success based on "Cradle to Career" (Westmoreland et al, 2009) fosters family
involvement and involvement in the education of the children (Foot et al., 2002; Tett, 2001).
Numerous research have examined the influence of parental participation policies in schools on
kids' academic performance and general school wellbeing (Senechal & LeFevre, 2002; Edwards
& Warin, 1999; Baker et al, 1997). Modern parental participation programs empower parents
democratically and politically by giving them a voice and democratic decision-making authority
over their children's education in terms of educational content, methodology, and day-to-day
school life.
Parental participation in the community extends beyond that. Partnerships between
schools, families, and communities are a better approach to integrate school activities into the
community since all stakeholders share responsibility for students' learning and development
(Epstein & Sheldon, 2006). Community engagement is a multidimensional and complicated
notion involving several agents functioning at different levels and in diverse ways, and it need
strong leadership. A substantial corpus of research has focused on the advantages of community
participation in schools (Sanchez, 1999; Espstien, 2001a, Delga Do-Gaitan, 2001; Garcia 2002).
For example, educators can transform their schools and classrooms into communities of inquirers
(Wells ,1999). In this process, community involvement becomes critical not only for the school
but also for the transformation of that particular community.
Participation in the community has been found to improve student achievement in school
(Epstein, 1983; Grolnick et al, 1999; Harvard, 2007). It increases children's academic growth in
reading in the early years of schooling (Faires et al., 2000; Jordon et al., 2000). Reading progress
was also noticed with older elementary school kids (Epstein, 1991, 2001). Improvements in
mathematics were also noted, with a focus on pupils' self-concept as learners (Frome & Eccles,
1998). In science, parents' attitudes about the topic were discovered to play a significant effect in
their children's interest and achievement in the field (George and Kaplan, 1998). Community
participation has also been shown to minimize absenteeism, improve student conduct at school,
and improve kids' mood and adaptability (Saunders and Sheldon, 2009). In fact, it has aided in
the fight against gender violence through the participation of various groups of women in
Spain(Soler, 2009). Community involvement has also aided the implementation and maintenance
of school and curriculum reform (Arriaza, 2004).
 Community participation also promotes learning among community members. Improving
parents' reading abilities provides more opportunities for low-income parents to match the school
culture (Paratore et al, 1999), bolstering the case for equality in the distribution of literacy
programs (Ponzetti & Dulin, 1997). Volunteers play an important role in the development of
elementary level pupils' reading skills (Fitzgerald, 2001). Family literacy programs teach parents
how to assist their own children while also empowering them to participate in their children's
learning and development (Tett, 2001). Schools thereby bridge the social norms gap between the
school and the home (Gradstein & Justman,2002)
Collaboration not only broadens one's professional skills, but also allows one to approach
problems from new angles and in a more holistic manner. Schools establish the objective of
reaching out to those who need guidance the most; supporting transformational techniques that
would enable all students to realize their potential regardless of their background, culture,
financial level, and so on. Schools and community organizations collaborate to empower
children and families to succeed in school by increasing social capital (Green & Preston, 2001)
and lessening the marginalization of disadvantaged groups in society as an outcome of providing
a great education (Putman, 2004).