This book examines the place of the arts in the schools and how to establish that place. The document makes the case for the role of the visual arts, music, dance, drama, architecture, and aesthetics in educating boys and girls while simultaneously using the arts as a vehicle for school renewal. A special focus of the book is the rational for, and…

Ways in which community "visioning" can be used to generate support and action for community education are described in this paper. Six steps in the community visioning process are discussed: (1) preparing; (2) conducting a workshop; (3) obtaining community feedback; (4) action planning; (5) recruiting, implementing, and following up; and (6)…

Conventional anti-poverty efforts have failed because they have not created the structures for the poor to help themselves, and they are designed and controlled by people outside of the affected communities. Introduced in 1968 by the National Association of the Southern Poor, the Assembly is a non-political structure that organizes community…

Computer equity is the equal opportunity for each individual to use a computer and learn the same subjects at the same level. Every community has some aspect of computer inequity, be it based on gender, income level, race, age, academic achievement, geography, or subject matter. The community activist who wants to promote equal access to computers…

This book offers 20 contemporary biographies of young women across the United States who are making a difference in their schools and communities through community service. Examples of community action include feeding the hungry, recycling, saving the bluebirds, and promoting literacy. The girls and young women emerge as leaders in an area of…

Over a period of several months, seven Federal agencies met to study and discuss the national problem of violence, especially youth violence, and to determine how best to assist states and communities in dealing with this volatile subject. One result of these discussions was a national conference to focus attention on the many programs being tried…

Describes Catholic priest's founding and operation of Servol, grassroots community assistance and development center in Trinidad. Describes Servol's low-profile service-oriented approach to creating education and health services, programs, and facilities. Describes Servol's difficult transition from quixotic neighborhood project to national and…

Community development depends on capable, visionary local leaders and on informed and active citizens. Thus, in the long run, education for all citizens may be the most critical ingredient to the success of rural community development programs. Schools can further contribute to the development of rural communities by providing an explicit…

This book explores how community functions in "Bremer," a small rural town in eastern Washington. Human interactions in a variety of contexts are analyzed within a framework that posits three distinct eras of social and economic organization: community-control, mass-society, and information eras. Contexts examined are farming (the…

An exploratory study designed to analyze the evolution of neighborhood movements in Rio de Janeiro City (Brazil) focuses on actions related to the struggle for public schools. The effort seeks to determine the degree of political autonomy of the neighborhood associations and the nature of the educational demands and their relationship with the…

Presents a communitarian rationale for character education. Communitarians believe that individual liberties depend upon bolstering the foundations of civil society: families, schools, and neighborhoods. Lists four core areas of focus: character education in the schools, building and rebuilding communities, policies to strengthen the family, and…

Aboriginal educators and economic development practitioners in Canada are developing and implementing initiatives to promote the achievement of "digital opportunities" so that Aboriginal communities can both develop and be in a position to take advantage of economic opportunities without falling deeper into the "digital…

Interviews conducted in Kentucky's Fifth Congressional District sought answers for improving educational quality in the district, which has the highest dropout rate, the lowest holding power, and the lowest standardized test scores in Kentucky. Members of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development interviewed 155 people from 15 of…

This document cites theoretical works and actual cases to examine the notion of community as the web of learning. The first half of the document explores the different perspectives about the concept of community and traces the evolved nature of community through an overview of how humans have banded together to form communities from the early days…