Community Experiences

Communities

This volume examines the multiple meanings of the term community in relation to teacher education research from an international perspective and present examples of exemplary work that represent different strands of community-focused and community-based teacher education. As well as laying out and clarifying the landscape of existing work on including communities in teacher education, Ken Zeichner argues for a view of teacher education in which existing power hierarchies are disrupted and in which parents/carers, families and local communities play central roles in the preparation of teachers and teacher educators. He also argues for a vision of teaching that includes instruction, curriculum development, and community participation. He explores the links between equity and justice in education in schools in marginalized communities and shows how decolonial approaches to teacher education that access community expertise can help shift power relations resulting in culturally sustaining and revitalizing forms of education.

The Learning Community Experience in Higher Education

Offering an interdisciplinary qualitative approach, this book examines and evaluates the role and benefits of a Learning Community (LC), a high-impact practice for student retention in higher education. Grounded in in-depth case studies and first-person student experiences, the authors studied four student cohorts (sophomore, junior, senior, and graduate students) who participated in a full immersion LC experience at an urban public four-year college in New York. Focusing on the maturity students develop as they progress toward their degrees, the authors evaluate the impact of the learning community on the students’ experiences, perceptions, successes and obstacles. A powerful demonstration of the effects of connection and comradery on learning, this account explores how the LC helps the decision-making of those in higher education administration regarding high impact student interventions.

Circular