When New Relationships Meet Old Narratives: The Journey towards Improving Parent-School Relations in a District-Community Organizing Collaboration

2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann M. Ishimaru
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Community Organizing ◽  
School Level ◽  
Group Collaboration ◽  
Role Of Parents ◽  
School Social Capital ◽  
Structural Social Capital

Background/Context Faced with rapidly changing demographics, districts are increasingly looking to partner with parents to support and improve student learning. Community organizing holds promise for pursuing educational equity through the development of low-income parent participation and leadership, but previous research has focused primarily on the use of structural social capital theory in qualitative studies to understand school-based organizing mechanisms and impacts in traditional urban centers. Focus of Study The aim of this study was to examine whether district-level organizing efforts might be associated with improved parent-school relations in schools and how such efforts to build a new relationship may be enacted and negotiated at the school level within the context of a district-organizing group collaboration in a “new immigrant” destination. Research Design This mixed-methods sequential explanatory study used social capital and the concept of institutional scripts to quantitatively investigate the relationship between Latino parent organizing and parent-school relations across a district, then qualitatively explore the dynamics of parent-school social capital in a nested case study of one school. Data Collection and Analysis Using teacher-survey data from a stratified random sample of teachers in schools across the district, I fit multilevel regression models to examine whether schools with more organizing engagement had greater structural and functional parent-school social capital. I subsequently analyzed interview, observation, and document data to examine how organizing efforts sought to build positive parent-school relations at an elementary school that represented a key focal point for the district-organizing group collaboration. Findings/Results Schools with high organizing had greater structural social capital than schools with little or no organizing, but high organizing schools did not have greater functional social capital in the form of teacher-parent trust. The case study findings suggested that the dominant institutional scripts about the role of parents were simultaneously rewritten and reinforced even as organizing approaches worked to foster a new relationship between parents and educators. Conclusions/Recommendations Districts and schools that collaborate with community organizing groups can augment their social resources and expertise, particularly in reaching out to low-income Latino parents and effectively educating their children. Yet, the dominant institutional scripts in schools – about the role of parents, professional authority, and control – suggest the complexity of efforts to improve parent-school relations. Those seeking to build meaningful parent and community participation in schools would do well to move beyond traditional forms of parent involvement in the journey toward deeper engagement and collaboration.

Mothers, daughters, fathers and sons: intergenerational family social capital and inequalities in Guayaquil, Ecuador

2020 ◽  
pp. 095624782095902
Author(s):  
Caroline O N Moser
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Family Social Capital ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Fathers And Sons ◽  
Over 40 Years

This paper describes the role of intergenerational processes in increasing or reducing multidimensional inequality in Indio Guayas, a low-income peripheral settlement in Guayaquil, Ecuador. It also examines the importance of family social capital, irrespective of spatial location, as against household social capital in these processes. This longitudinal case study included a dataset on trends from 1978 through 1992 to 2004, in-depth studies over the decades, and further comparative research in 2018. The anthropological narrative is provided by the voices of three women and their families over 40 years. In 2018, interviews my son and I undertook for the documentary film Calle K demonstrated the importance of family social capital in the intergenerational reciprocity among mothers, daughters, fathers and sons, while illustrating different intergenerational trajectories addressing the challenges of inequality at this micro-level. The postscript points to the likely critical importance of family social capital in the context of the appalling COVID-19 pandemic.

Rewriting the Rules of Engagement: Elaborating a Model of District-Community Collaboration

2014 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Ishimaru
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Community Organizing ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Educational Leaders ◽  
District Leadership ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Civic Capacity ◽  
Community Based Organization ◽  
Role Of Parents

In this ethnographic case study, Ann M. Ishimaru examines how a collaboration emerged and evolved between a low-income Latino parent organizing group and the leadership of a rapidly changing school district. Using civic capacity and community organizing theories, Ishimaru seeks to understand the role of parents, goals, strategies, and change processes that characterize a school district's collaboration with a community-based organization. Her findings suggest an emergent model of collaboration that engages parents as educational leaders, focuses on shared systemic goals, strategically builds capacity and relationships, and addresses educational change as political process. This emergent model stands in contrast to traditional partnerships between communities and school or district leadership that often reflect deficit conceptions of marginalized parents and families. By rewriting the rules of engagement, parents, families, and community members can contribute critical resources to enable districts and schools to educate all students more equitably.

Case Studies of School-Level Governance Dynamics in the Eastern Cape

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Levy Brian ◽  
Lawule Shumane
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
School Level ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Educational Mission ◽  
Entry Points ◽  
School Governing Bodies ◽  
Level Performance ◽  
Over Time

This chapter explores some micro-level governance and political economy determinants of performance over time in four schools in low-income communities in the Butterworth district of the Eastern Cape. Using process tracing methodologies, the chapter explores the interactions over time between school-level leadership, the bureaucracy, school governing bodies, and the broader community—and how they impact school-level performance. There was no evidence of effective support by the bureaucracy for the educational mission of the schools. But there was striking evidence in three of the four case study schools of the role of participatory governance by SGBs, communities, and parents as a partial institutional substitute, offsetting to some extent the weaknesses of hierarchy. The findings offer encouragement that non-hierarchical entry points for improving educational outcomes indeed have some potential to achieve gains.

Community Organizing among the Elderly Poor in the United States: A Case Study

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith Minkler
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Community Organizing ◽  
Community Organization ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Health Organization

This case study demonstrates the role of community organizing as a vehicle for enhancing individual and community-level empowerment. Building on social support theory, Freire's “education for critical consciousness,” and the principles and strategies of community organization practice, the 12-year-old Tenderloin Senior Organizing Project reflects the World Health Organization definition of health promotion as a means of helping individuals and communities to take increasing control over the factors influencing their health. Through the Project, low-income elders have successfully identified and addressed shared problems in such areas as crime and safety, undernutrition, and tenants rights. They further have developed ongoing tenants' associations and other community-based organizations that have provided continuity over time and contributed to the development of a “competent community.” Problems in areas such as funding, evaluation, and volunteer burnout are discussed, as are the potentials for project replication in other settings.

scholarly journals Role of non-state organizations in strengthening social capital: case study of Mansehra district of KP province, Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shoaib Nasir ◽  
Mudassar Yasin ◽  
Muhammad U. Mehmood ◽  
Muhammad Luqman ◽  
Muhammad Yaseen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Organizational Infrastructure ◽  
True Representation ◽  
Time Availability ◽  
State Organizations

The building of functional linkages between non-profit/non-state organizations and other collaborators at various levels is a necessity to benefit the welfare of the rural poor. Pakistan is also embracing its inclusion in the list of economies that are considered to have weak social capital. Strengthening of social capital has a valuable contribution by the NGOs especially in the rangelands of Pakistan. The current study is designed to examine the role of non-governmental and non-state organizations in building up social capital. Data were taken from three different localities in the Mansehra district of Hazara region in Pakistan adopting qualitative and quantitative approaches. A weak organizational infrastructure in terms of horizontal and vertical principles (transparency, viability, integrity, accountability etc.) was found in all three study areas. The access to social capital at sites I II obtained 1.98 and 1.78 respectively and residents of site III were found deprived. The study showed that rural people with low income (often referred to as poor) have lower social incomes compared to people with high- and medium-income levels (often referred as well off and better off). The limitations of time availability and social confidence results in no contact or social interaction among poor. A significant role of NGOs has been observed in bringing poor and oppressed people into mainstream social capital. The study delineates the increased involvement of registered and unregistered local groups/organizations in the development of rural community. Findings of the research also conclude that local community groups are more vital than that of the registered organizations due to their informal culture and true representation of practical needs of the community. The volunteers played an important role in creating social grants, and their inclusion in the form of a comprehensive social capital plan will result in refinement of services and overall betterment of society.

scholarly journals Social Capital: Higher Resilience in Slums in the Lagos Metropolis

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3879
Author(s):  
Olabisi S. Obaitor ◽  
Taibat O. Lawanson ◽  
Marion Stellmes ◽  
Tobia Lakes
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Land Allocation ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Community Group ◽  
The Social ◽  
Structural Social Capital ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Slum Community

Different slums exhibit different levels of resilience against the threat of eviction. However, little is known about the role of the social capital of the slum community in this context. This study investigates the factors contributing to slum resilience in the Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria, through a social capital lens. This study first investigates land allocation in slums, then the available social capital, and subsequently how this capital influences resilience to the threat of eviction in slums. Data were collected in two slum communities, in Lagos, through in-depth interviews and focus groups discussion. This study shows that land allocation is done by the traditional heads, contrarily to the mandate of the Nigeria Land Use Act of 1978. Furthermore, there is a form of structural social capital through the presence of government registered community development associations in the slums; however, their activities, decision-making process and the perception of the residents’ towards their respective associations, differs. This led to differences in trust, social cohesion and bonding ties among residents of the slum, thereby influencing resilience to the threat of eviction in slums. Since community group associations, through the appointed executives, drive the efficient utilization of social capital in slums, this study therefore recommends their restructuring in order to support a sustainable solution to the threat of eviction in slums in Lagos.

The role of entrepreneurial families in entrepreneurial ecosystems: the family social capital approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Benavides-Salazar ◽  
Cristina Iturrioz-Landart ◽  
Cristina Aragón-Amonarriz ◽  
Asunción Ibañez-Romero
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entrepreneurial Ecosystems ◽  
Family Social Capital ◽  
The Family ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Entrepreneurial Dynamics

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how entrepreneurial families (EFs) influence the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) by using the family social capital (FSC) approach. Design/methodology/approach For this paper, the authors analyzed the Manizales EE as a case study. The authors used a variety of data collection procedures, including in-depth interviews with 26 entrepreneurs and mentors. Findings The authors established how EFs affect EE development, identifying how the FSC bridging mechanisms impact the EE’s social and cultural attributes, boosting entrepreneurial dynamics. Originality/value The results indicated the relevance of EFs’ embeddedness and the degree of the FSC institutionalization in promoting of entrepreneurship within the EEs.

Improving public housing policies that target low-income households: The value of adding proximity to discretion

2021 ◽  
pp. 239965442110411
Author(s):  
Lauro Gonzalez ◽  
Fernanda Lima-Silva ◽  
Marlei Pozzebon
Keyword(s):  
Public Housing ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Housing Policies ◽  
Collective Case Study ◽  
Street Level ◽  
Leading Role

Research on street-level bureaucrats has examined the various ways in which these professionals have implemented public policies in areas such as healthcare, education, and security, often emphasizing the role played by discretion in the implementation process. Despite its importance, the concept of street-level bureaucracy has scarcely been approached by housing studies. This study focuses on the role of street-level workers in the delivery of public housing to the lower-income population. We affirm the value of complementing street-level discretion with the concept of proximity, a premise borrowed from the microfinance literature, to increase the understanding of the interactions and relationships established between street-level workers and policy recipients during the implementation process. Such complementarity may contribute to a more accurate understanding of the housing policy implementation dynamics on the street-level and the possible adjustments to meet local needs. To explore this issue, we used a theoretical lens inspired by Goffman’s frame analysis that points to the importance of relational mechanisms that characterize the interactions between street-level workers and beneficiaries. These lenses were applied to a collective case study of Minha Casa Minha Vida-Entidades, a Brazilian subprogram in which street-level workers linked to social housing movements assume a leading role in the planning and execution of interventions. The results indicate that the combination of proximity and discretion has a positive influence on the implementation of housing policies. Our analysis shows the existence of nonprofit-oriented arrangements that may present different features and nuances at the implementation (micro) level and contribute to the (macro) debate on housing policies.

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